The Structure of Art

The Formal Elements

…are what make it work!
In the years of my teaching I have found what I had also found in the years of studying
first painting and then sculpture: only formal criticism is constructive. By only relating to
the form or structure of a work one can remain on the objective realm where one doesn’t
clone oneself as an artist but actually achieves progress and individuality in students,
who keep honing their perceptual abilities until they can make a composition work. And
that is what the Formal Elements in art, also called the Elements of Design, can do for
you: they are the building blocks of any piece and, therefore, their understanding and
adroit handling is what makes a piece work.

principles of design or principles of art - Certain qualities inherent in the

choice and arrangement of elements of art in the production of a work of art.
Artists "design" their works to varying degrees by controlling and ordering the
elements of art. Considering the principles is especially useful in analyzing ways
in which a work is pleasing in formal ways. How any work exhibits applications of
these principles can further or modify other characteristics of a work as well.
(artlex.com)

This certainly has a student progress further than being constantly told by a teacher at
college how he doesn’t “like” this work, or how it doesn’t work “for him” because he can’t
identify with the style or message…

Form or Content?
That doesn’t mean that I am a formalist and that only structure is important in art.
Content, context are extremely important in art – but not primarily for a student or
teacher, simply because the skilful application and understanding of the formal elements
is what provides the strong and coherent vehicle to make something artistically viable
and present enough to actually be able to carry off content successfully, - no matter
which discipline or style or period it is embedded in.

Perceptual ability has to grow twofold: in seeing observation of physical reality (merely
because this is the most reliable way of achieving a visual vocabulary that is eloquent
enough to serve as a basis of forms of visual expression); and secondly in perceptual
realisation of formal context (the increase of perceptual, reflective ability applied to one’s
own work). There has to be a growth in both, intuition drawing on experience – and
analysis. That is only achieved by constant ‘doing’, but it is recognising that the action of
creating something, is always followed by stepping back and looking at what one has
made. So, both parts of creative action have to be trained, to assure progress.

Therefore, structure and content to me are not separate at all, but one needs to be
trained, to be able to convey the other properly. Form serves message. And I think that
is the ONLY downfall of some of modern art, it’s a communication problem based on a
lack of visual vocabulary by some modern artists (and yes, of the public but that is
another story…and lets not always blame them first).

"The history of modern art is also the history of the progressive loss of art's
audience. Art has increasingly become the concern of the artist and the
 bafflement of the public."
Henry Geldzahler (1935-1994), Belgian-born U.S. curator, art critic.

In the following find the formal elements listed in what seems to be their progression,
though they are really the basic building blocks of any work. They exist in variations or
combinations, but always affect each other (“talk” to each other”). The main objective in
learning to build successful work (which will then also be able to carry a statement to its
best potential) is not only to understand each one on its own, but to understand the
interplay between them, and to develop the visual sensitivity and experience to judge
and predict these.

What your work consists of, the Formal Elements:

(Point) a point moved in space results in line:

Line Trace of movement

Results in Contour, which results in shape

Shape
Tactile line / cross-contours and ‘continuation of lines’ build shapes into
coherent form

Visual, pictorial texture emerges as shapes are distributed in format as

compositional elements
Shape becomes form in relation to space through combinations of formal
elements

Texture Further application of line as marks results in texture either as pictorial

surface Texture of work or/and representation of a local, observed texture

Tone Value, relative light and dark gradates tone, which defines form in 3 dimensions
Densities of marks / textures across form define lights and darks

ColourAll preceding elements can exist with or without extra colour – but other formal
elements always exist within colour. One basic colour contrast is
necessary to see earlier elements (e.g. black line on white paper).
Space
This is the ‘unofficial’ elementas it is really the result of the others
Combinations of formal elements create space
The format of the composition is the given space, in which one can create
the illusion of another space

 All elements can have spatial implications through their use

 Rhythm emerges in application of line / marks but all elements could / should work
with rhythm

Duality
The most successful compositions are able to create tension and constant dialogue
between these elements by contrasting and bouncing them off each other. Contrasts of
this sort can be very subtle, or very dramatic – that again is the realm of message and
personality and style.

The reason why these contrasts not only enhance a piece but are actually the only tools
you have to make it work is simple: imagine the whole planet would be populated with
beautiful people. We wouldn’t know what beauty is, because we would know nothing but
beauty, nothing contrasting beauty, no deviation or opposite to beauty, no ugliness.
Therefore, we wouldn’t see beauty.
A simple example is often found in beginner’s work when there is quite a good drawing
emerging somewhere in a haze – but the tonal range is so close that everything sinks
out of sight in a sea of greys! Not everyone has it just by instinct to know how you make
the drawing ‘visible’. The understanding of these formal elements – through practice and
observation of their effects- resolves the problem: you increase the tonal range,
selectively strengthen some darks and some lights, for a start. There would be a long list
of further possibilities to fix this problem, all different applications and combinations of
the elements.

It is not just a philosophical, abstract idea but it is how everything in the perceptible
universe is built: things are known and can be defined because of their opposites. We
only know good because we know bad, only know light because we know dark.
Electricity flows between two poles, plus and minus. Things are separate so we can see
differences – rather than knowing nothing in sameness; the more we can differentiate
what is different, the more we are able to perceive. The more versatile and differentiated
our visual vocabulary, the more we see and can express clearly. Whether on the level of
thought or in art, it works the same…

Just to clarify: the mention of words like ‘contrast’ should not give you the idea that this
only exists between two extremes, like extreme light and dark. There are many shades
and gradations in-between and they all have their ideal level of ‘contrast’.

The application of these elements lies in your increased sensitivity based on experience
– not in following any set rules, which don’t exist. They only exist within the universe of
each piece itself – and that is why one can make literally any composition work if one
sets one’s mind to it.

All Formal Elements work together as part of a whole, they are merely different aspects
of one thing. They affect each other because they are inter-related. Their dialogue is
what gives life to a composition, they are the tools to channel your energy. If you are
working on one, it will change another. To practice play off their effects is like etudes for
a pianist until he can improvise or interpret freely. The knowledge of their workings will
also help you to know when to stop and not over-work

Composition is the stating and balancing of contrasts, the careful and sensitive
balancing of the formal elements with and to each other.

So, experience with formal elements is not just something for art critics who are
analysing other’s work “after the fact”. They are just terms describing what is in fact your
perceptual equipment while you work, an awareness of the effects of what you are
doing while you are doing it, to best say what you want to express.

Definitions:

Tactile line / cross-contours

The line that follows the undulations, projections and recessions of a surface as if you
were touching it; contours around sub-forms within a whole

Continuation of lines
Each projection or recession across the landscape of the body is part of one structure,
all masses are harmoniously connected. Therefore, following any contour or cross-
contour across the body has as its continuation the uninterrupted flow into another form
element. Evolve your line from within a form, as this is the reason for its existence. While
drawing a line, making a mark, already think ahead of where this leads, to be sure it
visually connects up, so the harmonious flow across the figure remains uninterrupted.

Formalism - An aesthetic and critical theory of art which places emphasis on form -- the
structural qualities instead of either content (sometimes called literal or allegorical
qualities) or contextual qualities. According to this point of view, the most important thing
about a work of art is the effective organization of the elements of art through the use of
the principles of design. (artlex.com)

© Babette Adrian 2004